Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 25 January 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Electronic Health Records: Discussion

Dr. Mark White:

To answer the Deputy's question, there will be a staffing load as we transition. The big question for the system is whether we should we have started this eight or nine years ago when we suggested we should have so that the load and the cost would have been less. That is the bigger question. This is change. Most of the health and public services have had various pay claims based on change and transformation so the platform is set. The number of public servants who embraced technology and digitalisation and pivoted quickly during the pandemic demonstrates that this can be done. This goes back to the original question about the end user. It is difficult for me to explain to my elderly father how he can insure his car, book his national car test, go to see my brother in Spain, all on his phone but that he has ring and sit for 25 minutes on the phone trying to book an appointment in the outpatients department. The end user is absolutely key and that is the catalyst for change for the health service and all health service personnel.

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